The
House of Windsor is the current
Royal HouseA royal house or royal dynasty is a familial designation, or family name of sorts, used by royalty. It generally represents the members of a family in various senior and junior or cadet branches, who are loosely related but not necessarily of the same immediate kin...
of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and each of the other
Commonwealth realmA Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 132 million; all but about two million live in the six most populous states, the United...
s. It is a branch of the
House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaThe House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is German noble family, a line of the Saxon House of Wettin that ruled the two duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. It is also the royal house of several European monarchies, and branches currently reign in Belgium through the descendants of Leopold I, and in the...
, which adopted the name
Windsor by a royal proclamation of
George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
in 1917. The current head of the House of Windsor is
Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
, the reigning monarch over the Commonwealth realms (however, the overall head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, including the Windsor branch, is Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
was married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha son of
Duke Ernst IErnest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, formerly Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and from 1826, the first sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
of the small German
duchyA duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era...
of
Saxe-Coburg and GothaSaxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha served as the name of the two German duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha in Germany, in the present-day states of Bavaria and Thuringia, which were in personal union between 1826 and 1918....
.
The
House of Windsor is the current
Royal HouseA royal house or royal dynasty is a familial designation, or family name of sorts, used by royalty. It generally represents the members of a family in various senior and junior or cadet branches, who are loosely related but not necessarily of the same immediate kin...
of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and each of the other
Commonwealth realmA Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 132 million; all but about two million live in the six most populous states, the United...
s. It is a branch of the
House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaThe House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is German noble family, a line of the Saxon House of Wettin that ruled the two duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. It is also the royal house of several European monarchies, and branches currently reign in Belgium through the descendants of Leopold I, and in the...
, which adopted the name
Windsor by a royal proclamation of
George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
in 1917. The current head of the House of Windsor is
Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
, the reigning monarch over the Commonwealth realms (however, the overall head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, including the Windsor branch, is Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).
Descendants of Victoria
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
was married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha son of
Duke Ernst IErnest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, formerly Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and from 1826, the first sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
of the small German
duchyA duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era...
of
Saxe-Coburg and GothaSaxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha served as the name of the two German duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha in Germany, in the present-day states of Bavaria and Thuringia, which were in personal union between 1826 and 1918....
. Her descendants were also members of the ducal family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a minor branch of the thousand-year-old House of Wettin. It was Victoria's desire that her son rule as a member of the House of Wettin, instead of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, because she felt the older name would conjure images of the shared Saxon heritage of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and England. However, the name Wettin was never widely accepted. Victoria's son,
Edward VIIEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910...
, and, in turn, his son,
George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
, reigned as members of this house.
High
anti-German sentimentAnti-German sentiment is defined as a fear or hatred of Germany, its people, and the German language.-Russia:In the 1860s Russia experienced an outbreak of Germanophobia, mainly restricted to a small group of writers in St. Petersburg who had united around a right wing newspaper...
amongst the people of the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
reached a peak in March 1917, when the
Gotha G.IVThe Gotha G.IV was a heavy bomber used by the Luftstreitkräfte during World War I. Experience with the G.III showed that the rear gunner could not efficiently operate both the dorsal and ventral positions...
, a heavy aircraft capable of crossing the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
began bombing
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
directly. The aircraft became a household name, and coincidently was part of the name of the royal family. These bombings were coupled with the
abdicationAbdication is the act of renouncing and resigning from a formal office, especially from the supreme office of state. In Roman law the term was also applied to the disowning of a family member, as the disinheriting of a son...
of King George's first cousin, Nicholas II, the
TsarTsar or czar , occasionally spelled csar or Tzar in English, is a Slavic term with Bulgarian origins used to designate certain monarchs...
of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
on 15 March 1917, which raised the specter of the eventual abolition of all the monarchies in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. The King and his family were finally convinced to abandon all titles held under the German Crown, and to change German titles and house names to anglicized versions. Hence, on 17 July 1917, a Royal Proclamation issued by George V declared
- Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor...
The name had a long association with British royalty, through the town of
Windsor, BerkshireWindsor is a suburban town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is best known as the site of Windsor Castle....
and
Windsor CastleWindsor Castle, in Windsor in the English country of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited castle in the world and, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, is the oldest in continuous occupation...
, a link reflected in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle being the basis of the badge of the House of Windsor. At the same time, Prince Louis of Battenberg adopted the surname Mountbatten, a partial translation into English. Prince Louis is the maternal grandfather of
Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghThe Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Philip was originally a royal prince of Greece and Denmark, and thus a member of the Danish-German House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, but renounced these titles shortly before his marriage and adopted the...
.
Only a single person, Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, who was not a descendant of George V, ever bore the surname Windsor, and he died without issue. So today the only living royal Windsors are the agnatic descendants of George V.
Upon hearing that his cousin had changed the name of the British royal house to Windsor,
German Emperor Wilhelm II remarked jokingly that he planned to see
ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play
The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-GothaThe Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
. The two cousins had been previously photographed riding horses together in 1910 at the funeral of George's father, Edward VII, and again at
PotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and is part of the Metropolitan area of Berlin/Brandenburg. It is situated on the River Havel, some 25 kilometres southwest of the centre of Berlin....
palace
circa 1913.
(Photo of Kings 1913)
Descendants of Elizabeth II
When Princess Elizabeth (as she then was) married
Prince Philip of Greece and DenmarkThe Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Philip was originally a royal prince of Greece and Denmark, and thus a member of the Danish-German House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, but renounced these titles shortly before his marriage and adopted the...
, the standard practice would be to adopt his family household name. Because he was a prince, Prince Philip did not have a surname but he was of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a minor branch of the
House of OldenburgThe House of Oldenburg is a North German dynasty and one of Europe's most influential Royal Houses.It rose to prominence when Count Christian I of Oldenburg was elected King of Denmark in 1448, and of Norway in 1450...
. Not wishing to repeat the difficulties of three decades previous, before his marriage Prince Philip renounced his titles and adopted the surname Mountbatten, which his maternal grandfather had created in 1917.
On 9 April 1952,
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
officially declared her "Will and Pleasure that I and My children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that my descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor.". On 8 February 1960, the Queen confirmed that she and her children would continue to be known as the House and Family of Windsor, as would any
agnaticAgnatic succession is the limitation of inheritance to a throne or fief to heirs descended from the original titleholder through males only, excluding descendants through females. The most common forms are* Agnatic seniority and* Agnatic primogeniture...
descendants who enjoy the style of
His/Her Royal HighnessRoyal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
, and the title of Prince or Princess. Still, Elizabeth also decreed that her agnatic descendants who do not have that style and title would bear the surname
Mountbatten-WindsorMountbatten-Windsor is the personal surname of some of the descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh under an ambiguously-worded Order-in-Council issued in 1960....
.
Any future monarch can change the dynastic name through a similar royal proclamation, but it is not anticipated that
HRH The Prince of Wales will change the name of the royal family.
Members of the House of Windsor
George V had five sons, their descendants are shown in the table. Two of the descendants are dead (Princess Margaret and Prince William) and 7 are Catholic. The other 39 are the initial people in the line of succession.
CA means excluded from succession due to being Roman Catholic or having married a Catholic
| Succ.# |
Name |
Birth (& Death) |
Image |
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Founder |
HM Majesty is an English word derived ultimately from the Latin Maiestas, meaning Greatness.- Origin :Originally, during the Roman republic, the word maiestas was the legal term for the supreme status and dignity of the state, to be respected above everything else...
George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
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| G-V |
| 1st son |
HM Edward VIIIEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the British dominions, and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936 until his abdication on 11 December 1936, after which he was immediately succeeded by his younger brother, George VI...
(later HRH The Duke of Windsor) |
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no descendants |
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| 2nd son |
HM George VIGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death...
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| 2 |
Sovereign |
HM The Queen, Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
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| 3 |
01 |
HRH Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
The Prince of WalesCharles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1952, he has been heir apparent to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms. After earning a bachelor of arts from Trinity College, Cambridge, Charles served a tour of duty with Royal Navy...
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| 4 |
02 |
HRH Prince William of WalesPrince William of Wales , KG, is the elder son of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
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| 4 |
03 |
HRH Prince Harry of WalesPrince Henry of Wales , known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and grandson of Queen Elizabeth II...
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| 3 |
04 |
HRH The Duke of YorkThe Prince Andrew, Duke of York , is the second son and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
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| 4 |
05 |
HRH Princess Beatrice of YorkPrincess Beatrice of York is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York. As such she is fifth, and the first female, in the line of succession to the thrones of sixteen independent states...
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| 4 |
06 |
HRH Princess Eugenie of YorkPrincess Eugenie of York is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. As such she is sixth, and the second female, in the line of succession to the thrones of sixteen independent Commonwealth realm states.Her first royal engagement was opening a cancer ward...
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| 3 |
07 |
HRH The Earl of WessexThe Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex is the third son and fourth child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
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| 4 |
08 |
Viscount Severn James, Viscount Severn , is a member of the British Royal Family. He is the second child and only son of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie, Countess of Wessex...
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| image |
| 4 |
09 |
Lady Louise Windsor The Lady Louise Windsor is a member of the British Royal Family. She is the elder child of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie, Countess of Wessex...
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| image |
| 3 |
10 |
HRH The Princess RoyalAnne, Princess Royal is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
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| 4 |
11 |
Mr Peter Phillips Peter Mark Andrew Phillips is the only son of The Princess Anne, The Princess Royal and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips...
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| image |
| 4 |
12 |
Miss Miss is an English language honorific traditionally used only for an unmarried woman . Originating in the 17th century, it is a contraction of mistress, which was used for all women. A period is not used to signify the contraction...
Zara PhillipsZara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, MBE is the second child and only daughter of Princess Anne, Princess Royal and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips...
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| 2 |
died |
HRH Princess Margaret, Countess of SnowdonThe Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II....
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| 3 |
13 |
Viscount LinleyDavid Albert Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley , known professionally as David Linley, a bespoke furniture maker and chairman of Christie's UK, the international auction house...
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| image |
| 4 |
14 |
The Hon The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons.-Australia:...
Charles Armstrong-JonesCharles Patrick Inigo Armstrong-Jones is the son of Viscount Linley and Viscountess Linley. He is a great-grandson of King George VI of the United Kingdom....
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15 |
The Hon Margarita Armstrong-Jones Margarita Elizabeth Rose Alleyne Armstrong-Jones is the only daughter of Viscount Linley and Viscountess Linley. She was born three months after the death of her grandmother, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and a month and a half after the death of her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth, the...
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| 3 |
16 |
Lady Sarah Chatto The Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Chatto, née Armstrong-Jones , is the only daughter of the 1st Earl of Snowdon and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the second daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. She is 16th in line of succession to the thrones of each of the Commonwealth Realms,...
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| 4 |
17 |
Master Master is an English title.- In English and Welsh society :Master was used in England for men of some rank, especially "free masters" of a trade guild and by any manual worker or servant employee to his employer , but also generally by those lower in status to gentlemen, priests or scholars...
Samuel Chatto |
| image |
| 4 |
18 |
Master Arthur Chatto |
| image |
| 3rd son |
HRH The Prince Henry, Duke of GloucesterThe Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester PC, KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, KStJ was a member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary, and thus uncle to Elizabeth II...
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| 2 |
Died |
HRH Prince William of GloucesterPrince William of Gloucester was a member of the British Royal Family, a grandson of George V.-Early life:...
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| 2 |
19 |
HRH The Duke of GloucesterPrince Richard, 2nd Duke of Gloucester is a member of the British Royal Family, the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has been Duke of Gloucester since his father's death in 1974...
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| 3 |
20 |
Earl of Ulster Alexander Patrick Gregers Richard Windsor, Earl of Ulster is the only son of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. As the eldest son and heir of the Duke of Gloucester, he is styled Earl of Ulster...
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| image |
| 4 |
21 |
Lord Culloden Xan Richard Anders Windsor, Lord Culloden is the only child of Earl and Countess of Ulster.His father being the only son of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Lord Culloden is second in line to the Dukedom of Gloucester, and 21st in line to the British Throne...
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| 3 |
22 |
Lady Davina Lewis The Lady Davina Lewis is the elder daughter of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and the Duchess of Gloucester, and is currently 22nd in the line of succession to the British Throne....
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| 3 |
23 |
Lady Rose Gilman |
| image |
| 4th son |
HRH The Prince George, Duke of KentThe Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck. He held the title of Duke of Kent from 1934 until his death in 1942....
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| 2 |
24 |
HRH The Duke of KentPrince Edward, Duke of Kent is a member of the British Royal Family, a grandchild of George V. He has held the title of Duke of Kent since 1942....
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| 3 |
CA |
Earl of St Andrews George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews is the son of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and his wife, Katharine, Duchess of Kent...
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| on left |
| 4 |
CA |
Lord Downpatrick |
| image |
| 4 |
CA |
Lady Marina Windsor The Lady Marina Windsor is the elder daughter of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews and Sylvana Windsor, Countess of St Andrews. She was born at the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge and named for her great-grandmother, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent...
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| 4 |
25 |
Lady Amelia Windsor The Lady Amelia Windsor is the younger daughter of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews and Sylvana Windsor, Countess of St Andrews. She was born at the Rosie Hospital, Cambridge. She currently goes to school at St Mary's School Ascot.She is 25th in the line of succession to the British throne...
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| 3 |
CA |
Lord Nicholas Windsor Lord Nicholas Windsor is the youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and a great-grandson of King George V of the United Kingdom.-Early years:...
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| 4 |
CA |
Master Albert Windsor |
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| 4 |
CA |
Leopold Windsor |
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| 3 |
26 |
Lady Helen Taylor The Lady Helen Taylor is a British representative for the Italian fashion house Armani and the Italian jeweler Bulgari...
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| image |
| 4 |
27 |
Master Columbus Taylor |
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| 4 |
28 |
Master Cassius Taylor |
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| 4 |
29 |
Miss Eloise Taylor |
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| 4 |
30 |
Miss Estella Taylor |
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| 2 |
CA |
HRH Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent is a member of the British Royal Family and a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary....
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| image |
| 3 |
31 |
Lord Frederick Windsor Lord Frederick Windsor , popularly known as Lord Freddie, is a British financial analyst who is the only son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent ....
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| 3 |
32 |
Lady Gabriella Windsor The Lady Gabriella Windsor , known both professionally and personally as Ella Windsor, is an English journalist....
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| 2 |
33 |
HRH Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady OgilvyPrincess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy , is a member of the British Royal Family, the youngest granddaughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She is the widow of Sir Angus Ogilvy. Prior to her marriage she was known as Princess Alexandra of Kent...
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| image |
| 3 |
34 |
Mr James Ogilvy |
| left |
| 4 |
35 |
Miss Flora Ogilvy |
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| 4 |
36 |
Master Alexander Ogilvy |
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| 3 |
37 |
Mrs Marina Ogilvy |
| center |
| 4 |
38 |
Mr Christian Mowatt |
| right |
| 4 |
39 |
Miss Zenouska Mowatt |
| left |
| 5th son |
HRH The Prince JohnThe Prince John was a member of the British Royal Family, the youngest son of King George V and Queen Mary. The Prince had epilepsy and consequently was largely hidden from the public eye....
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Designation and details
At the creation of the House of Windsor, its head reigned over a unitary
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
. Following the end of the First World War, however, geo-political shifts took place that saw the emergence of the
DominionA dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of semi-autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, from the late 19th century. They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the...
s as sovereign states, the first step being the issuance of the Balfour Declaration in 1926, followed by the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles ActThe Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, granted Royal Assent on 12 April 1927, that formed a significant landmark in the constitutional history of the UK and British Empire as a whole...
the next year, and the
Statute of WestminsterThe Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and the United Kingdom, with a few residual exceptions...
in 1931. From then on, the House of Windsor became the royal house of multiple countries, a number that shifted over the decades as various Dominions and Crown colonies gained independence, and various of those moved to become monarchies under a different sovereign or a
republicA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
. Since 1949, the head of the House of Windsor is also
HeadThe Head of the Commonwealth heads the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation which currently comprises 53 sovereign states. The first Head of the Commonwealth was King George VI, the British monarch who was also head of state of many states and territories within the British...
of the
Commonwealth of NationsThe Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...
, comprising most (but not all) parts of the former
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
and some states that were never part of it.
In the chart below, the countries are differentiated between light green (realms of the House of Windsor as
DominionA dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of semi-autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, from the late 19th century. They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the...
s), medium green (present realms of the House of Windsor), and dark green (former realms of the House of Windsor).
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1930 |
1935 |
1940 |
1945 |
1950 |
1955 |
1960 |
1965 |
1970 |
1975 |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
2005 |
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Antigua and BarbudaAntigua and Barbuda is an island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands Antigua and Barbuda and a number of smaller islets...
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AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
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The BahamasThe Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 rocks. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, Hispaniola and the Caribbean Sea, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United...
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BarbadosBarbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent West Indian Continental Island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. For over three centuries Barbados was a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom; and still currently maintains Queen Elizabeth II as head of state...
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BelizeBelize , is a country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, composed of many cultures and speaking many languages. Although Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official language...
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CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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CeylonSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
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FijiFiji , officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands , is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu. The country comprises an archipelago of about 322 islands, of which 106 are permanently inhabited, and 522 islets...
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The GambiaThe Gambia , commonly known as Gambia, is a country in Western Africa. The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, bordered to the north, east, and south by Senegal, and has a small coast on the Atlantic Ocean in the west.Its borders roughly correspond to the path of the Gambia River,...
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GhanaThe Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa which borders Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
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GrenadaGrenada is an island country and sovereign state consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the...
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GuyanaGuyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean.Guyana was discovered in 1498 by the Europeans,Guyana's past is punctuated by battles fought and won,...
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Indian EmpireThe British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
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| Union of India |
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Irish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand....
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JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km 2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
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KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
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MalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by...
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MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
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MauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands...
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New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
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NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
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PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
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Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
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RhodesiaWhen the former colony of Northern Rhodesia changed its name to Zambia on independence in 1964, the colony of Southern Rhodesia changed its name to just plain 'Rhodesia'. The change had not yet been officialy ratified when Rhodesia declared itself independent on 11 November 1965...
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Saint Kitts and NevisThe Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies...
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Saint LuciaSaint Lucia is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. Its size is 620 km² with an...
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St Vincent and the GrenadinesSaint Vincent and the Grenadines is a nation in the Lesser Antilles chain, which lies at the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Its territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of...
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Sierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...
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Solomon IslandsThe Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres . The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.The Solomon Islands are believed to have been...
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South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
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TanganyikaTanganyika was an East African territory lying between the Indian Ocean and the largest of the African great lakes: Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika. From 9 December 1961 to 26 April 1964 it was also an independent nation. Once part of the colony of German East Africa , it comprised...
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Trinidad and TobagoThe Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the...
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TuvaluTuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
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UgandaThe Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania...
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United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
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List of Commonwealth realms monarchs
| Portrait |
Name |
From |
Until |
Relationship with predecessor |
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King Edward VIIEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910...
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22 January 1901 |
6 May 1910 |
son of Queen VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and GothaPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland....
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King George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
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6 May 1910 |
20 January 1936 |
son of Edward VII. |
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King Edward VIIIEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the British dominions, and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936 until his abdication on 11 December 1936, after which he was immediately succeeded by his younger brother, George VI...
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20 January 1936 |
11 December 1936 |
son of George V; Abdicated In 1936, the desire of King-Emperor Edward VIII to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite, caused a constitutional crisis in the British Empire....
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King George VIGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death...
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11 December 1936 |
6 February 1952 |
son of George V & brother of abdicated Edward VIII. |
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Queen Elizabeth II |
6 February 1952 |
reigning |
daughter of George VI. |
House of Windsor and the Line of Succession
When the House of Windsor was created, the House of Windsor included George V and his children. However, there was no law passed to limit the Line of Succession. At this time the line was approaching a thousand people who were legitimately descended from George I and not disqualified by religion. In addition to the six Windsor children, the next five on the list were British. So, even considering the dangers of wartime, it was highly unlikely that a series of disasters would occur that resulted in the crown passing outside of the kingdom. Therefore it would not have been risky to limit the line to these eleven people.
The British members were followed by the royal members in Norway and Romania, and Tsar
Nicholas II of RussiaNicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and claimed the title of King of Poland...
. The Tsar was descended from George I via three different bloodlines. The Tsar's wife was a first cousin of George V. Kaiser Wilhelm II, was also a first cousin of George V, sharing a common grandmother, Queen Victoria, so he was on the list. The line of succession was roughly half Germans. The line included all of the Kings of Prussia except the first king. The line of succession apparently did not disturb the public as much as the Germanic household names, the Germanic titles, and the photos of their King riding with the Emperor of Germany taken only three years earlier. As H. G. Wells put it, the royalty was "an alien and uninspiring Court".
Further reading
- Longford, Elizabeth Harman (Countess of Longford). The Royal House of Windsor. Revised ed. Crown, 1984.
- Roberts, Andrew. The House of Windsor. University of California Press, 2000.
See also
- British Royal Family
Image:Roy-fam-2007.jpg|right|500px|thumb|Members of the Royal Family gathered for a dinner celebrating the 60th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh Image:Roy-fam-2007.jpg|right|500px|thumb|Members of the Royal Family gathered for a dinner...
- Canadian Royal Family
- Australian Royal Family
- New Zealand Royal Family
- Mountbatten-Windsor
Mountbatten-Windsor is the personal surname of some of the descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh under an ambiguously-worded Order-in-Council issued in 1960....
- George V (descendant list)
George V is a complete list of every known descendant of King George V, the founder of the House of Windsor. The list includes deceased members, members who have become Catholic, royal and non-royal, legitimate and illegitimate members openly acknowledged by their parents. The table includes...
- Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is a suburban town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is best known as the site of Windsor Castle....
- Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English country of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited castle in the world and, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, is the oldest in continuous occupation...
External links